JUPITER, Fla. — There’s another outfield star from the Northeast about to blossom on the major league stage. Get ready for the George Springer Show in Houston.
New Jersey’s Mike Trout has become a beast with the Angels, and the Astros believe they have the next big thing in the 6-foot-3, 204-pounder from New Britain, Conn., who starred at the University of Connecticut.
Here is the amazing part of the center fielder’s story:
“As a kid, I was tiny,’’ Springer told The Post Monday at Roger Dean Stadium. “I didn’t start growing until my junior year of high school.’’
How tiny?
“Freshman year I was 4-10, 87 pounds,’’ Springer said with a smile. “But I always had the same makeup. I thought I was 6-5, 250.’’
Small body, big heart who picked a pretty good player to model himself after as a kid. Springer became a fan of an outfielder who played for his hometown Double-A team, the New Britain Rock Cats, a player named Torii Hunter.
Explained Springer: “My dad brought me to a game when I was 7 and when I got home, I said, ‘I want to play like that guy.’ ”
He met Hunter last spring. “He’s just a great person,’’ said Springer, the 11th pick of the 2011 draft.
“Being from Connecticut, there was always that bias from the Northeast that they don’t play as much and they’re not as developed,’’ Springer said. “But I was always taught by my dad and my mom, I’m just as good as whoever is on the other side of the line. There is a lot of talent in the Northeast. I think with the weather being the way it is, we go out and give it our all that day. There’s always some kind of environmental factor, whether it’s wind, cold, rain.’’
Springer put up hurricane numbers last year in Double-A Corpus Christi (Texas) and Triple-A Oklahoma City, hitting 37 home runs, stealing 45 bases while batting .303. Despite striking out 161 times, he was named the Minor League Offensive Player of the Year.
His father, George II, is an attorney and his mother, Marie, is a gymnastics instructor. Both graduated from UConn.
“My mom and my dad were tremendous athletes,’’ Springer said. George II played in the 1976 Little League World Series.
Springer, 24, figures to start the season at Triple-A, but it’s expected he’ll be called up quickly to play right field after the addition of Dexter Fowler to man center.
“The goal is to go out and try to knock down doors,’’ Springer said. The Astros need him to do just that.
“I was the scouting director for the Cardinals when he was at Connecticut,’’ Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow told The Post. “Very few players strike your fancy like George Springer does. He’s got a combination of power and speed and the things you see on the field are things that not many human beings can do, and then you layer on top of that, who he is as a person, not only is he smart, he is incredibly aware and adept at relationships, you can just as easily see him talking to the Latin players and the American players, he gets along with everybody.
“I just introduced him to five of our owners and he charmed them within a couple of minutes. What he did last year was historic. As an organization, we’re incredibly excited about the future with George Springer. I truly think he has chance to be a franchise player. We’re looking for the next generation of [Craig] Biggio, [Jeff] Bagwell and [Lance] Berkman in Houston that our fans can identify with and grow with and we think this kid is one of them, and [shortstop] Carlos Correa.’’
“He’s got it all, man,’’ said Astros special assignment coach Dan Radison, who spent 10 years coaching in the Yankees organization.
In the 4-0 win over the Marlins Monday, Springer walked four times and scored twice. He was a kid out there, sliding headfirst across home plate.
He plays the game with joy.
“That’s the only way to play,” Springer said.
This will be one fun ride.